Welt-shoe.



F. Wi MERRlCK.

WELT SHOE.

APPLICATION HLED 11H20, 1911.

1,137,270, Patented Apr. 27, 1915.

25a z/ nio):

gf shoes of ihe'eaici. type f.;

UNITED STATES yIJiirnnr OFFICE.

FRANK W. KEBBICK, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNG@ T9 UNION LOCK STITCH COMPANY, 0F BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A. WB-PQRTION OF MAINE.

WELT-SHOE.

Application le May 20, 1911,

T0 all whomI it may con memy Be it known their. I, Fniiin Vi'. Min-mitin., a, citizen of the United s, residing at Boston, in the county if uli'nll, Siete of Massachusetts, have iuif'ehecd :i Gestein new and useful lrnprovenent in Welt-Shoes, of which the folinwing .is n speciiicution, rei-4 erenee being had therein to the nccnmpeny in drawings.

lie present invention ,eenssts in n novel and improved welt shoe which bears u resemblance structurally to shoes of the G roodyear Welt type in that it has a Welt which is attached by means of an inseam to en nper and an insole, and to which an outer suie 1s attached by means of an ontnemn. It has the appearance and ellv or. he desirable char acteristies o a shoeof iiie :seid t fpe, includ-- ing the snug fit, sheet-.Zine en( rlurnhiity thereof., Whiie at the seme c li. sin i n Structed te he free fron verts in irri/which@ heruto'ore made, and is en improvement upon smh shoes. ll; possesses the ease and cmxiinri.. end the smooih and exihle trendv ef i he@ oi the stitchdown type. a

My improved and nevel construction simplifies the operations of manufacture, reduces the number of operations, end dispenses with all occasion for the employn'lentof cert-ein machines and parts of xnechines 'lit presentin use in the manufaeure of Goodyear Welt shoes. it seizures certain resuits which urf: not secured in ehoes ei the Goodyear Welt type :is et resent; manufactured, or in slices of any other type.

"rieiiy Staind, in mnh-ing a. welt shee elnibodying my invention, l prrdnce an insole hy taking 'Lain liexihl-.f insoleiilanl: and forming an upslzuulii edge-flange or lip thereon by a bend around the margin of the said 'blank defining the exi-renie outer hound- !iry nf the troefi urinate of the insele, fin-fl 'with n. n nf he t;en-ls2irfece l n l" (all iii iiti l surface of e les. r, il: ii.. of he lati/er treed-swims# iiferly beyond ihn einer il "raurfae 0f the insole. i apply en npperl to he last and hen@ it around ille edge of 'the last, drawing it; inwerri upon the exposed. nuirginal Vportion of the 1li-emisnrW ieee o the last. to enii @anni the said een Specification of Letters Patent Serial No. 28,379.

tnuation of the insole treadsuriace immediately at the henri. l thon apply :i iwelt, stitch the inseam, trim` the inseam, apply :in outsole, und connect the outsole with'the well'. hy an outseexn.

In the pracice of my invention l usually ineke the insoles of cloth, which is not adepted. to be channeled or split to forni a feather and a iip or shoulder to receive the stitches of en inseam, or of thin flexible material lacking the thickness requisite to permit the channeling or splitting. This choice of maf teriels conduces te great flexibility and pliability of the Iinished shoes, and permits a material saving in cost. The insole forining a portion m my improved shoe has no feather continuing the trendsurhice of the insole nutrmmi heycud the elige flange or lip which i aiws the inseiinrfstitches ln miler io serine im underset inseam with the .upper ew singing end bulging' outward pi-lst 'ille i mn so es to niie the proper shape nini zappen ence te tinx shoe, l employ in making! mjy.' elw :i hist haring i rounded or ehnlniercri inn y :il reduction around the Hemi-surface of it ole The said nnirgimil reduction nr chnn'xier is lecnted inward relz1- tive to the lateral buiging body of the hist, so that after he insnlc has been applied to the central pori: .in of the. sole of the hist, and the upper has been applied to the last, the operation of drawing the upper inward to the iiange or lip nf the insole will bend the upper inward around the exposed round @il 0r cliniziiiered margin of the solo, and the marginal reduction of the lust will :ilford the necessary clearance io enable the Stitchiorming devices of the sewing machine by which the ineenm is stitched to form the inseem at :i point inwerdly-locnted upon the treadsurfnce o? the. sole of the hist.

The im vration is illustrated 'in the drawings. in wh ich,

' ons in perspective the insole ii. tiri ngc. Fig. 2 is :i view there un line,2,nf Fig. l. Fig. howsin r :ii cross-section an upper coning a :and having cinniiinvd theren'ith the insole of Figs. l and 2 and e'wclt, the seid Welt and the upper being; attached to the molded iiange of the insolehy a, line of stitches constituting the inse-ain. Fig. 4 shows the parts of FL;A 3 nltcr the margins ef the welt, upper and molded {innge of the insole have been trimmed away close to the inseam. Fig. 5 shows the parts after the outer sole and cushion or filler have been combined therewith, with the outer sole connected to the welt by the outseam.

Referring to the d1'awings,-As above referred to, l subject the blank for the insole 1 to an operation by which its marginal portion is molded to form the upstanding flange 2. The angle which the flange is caused to assume with relation to the plane of the tread-surface of the insole may vary in practice. In producing the insole, I take a blank of proper size, of' a thin flexible material, and form the flange thereon by a simple bending of the marginal or edge-portion of the blank so as to cause it to stand at the required angle to the said plane, and by means of the bending operation I cause the flange to become set inthe desired position. The insole thus prepared has no so-called feather, and the outer face of the flange is a continuation of that surface of the bodyportion, e., intermediate portion of the insole, which in the lasting operation faces the sole of the last 4, and which during the wearing of the shoe receives the direct pressure of the wearers foot.

In Figs. 3, 4, 5, the upper is marked 3, and 4 is the last within the upper, 5 being the welt. A lining is indicated at 10. I apply the prepared insole of Figs. 1 and 2 to the last 4 as in Fig. 3, draw the upper and lining inward around and over the margin of the last, and place the margins of the upper and lining directly against the outer surface of the molded flange 2, as in Figt. I also place a welt 5 against the exterior of' the upper as in said figure, and secure the welt, upper, lining, and flange of the insole together by a line of' stitching 6 passing through the entire thickness of the flange and located close'to the angle olgbend of the latter, ther'eby forming the inseam, the result being as shown in Fig. 3. The flange serves as a guide during the stitching operation, and preserves or maintains the regularity of the stitching. I then trim off the marginsiof the welt, upper, lining, and molded insole-flange close to the inseam, as in Fig. 4, after which I Hatten out the welt so as to cause it to stand out. I then apply a cushion 7 to the exposed outer surface of the insole, within the trimmed molded flange, and next apply an outer sole 8, fastening said outer sole to the welt by means of stitches 9 passing vertically through the welt and the sole 8 and constituting the out-seam.

As a result of making the insole with a molded flange as aforesaid by a simple bending operation without channeling into or splitting the thickness of the insole along the line of the bend to form a Vfeather and lip I am enabled to employ a thin insoll of any convenient and suitable tough and,

. f. hmmmmwm.

flexible material, such, for instance, as cloth,

mains on the insole-blank, the grain being the toughest portion of the leather.

In dispensing with the usual operation .of channeling the insole to form a lip and a feather I omit the feather altogether, but nevertheless I attain the same overhang of the upper of the shoe that heretofore has necessitated the formation of a feather upon the insole of a welt sole. My im lroved construction renders unnecessary t e employment of channel-openers and the like in the sewing machine by which the inseam is sewed. It allows the use of an insole of.extremely flexible material. The omission of a feather secures in the completed shoe the advantage that there is nothing to form a ridge beneath the wearers foot, and to curl out of shape andhurt the foot.

I have stated above that the flange of the insole serves as a guide during the stitching operation, and preserves or maintains the regularity of the stitching. The stitchin is gaged from the inner angle of the bendg of the flange with relation to the body .of the insole, and the upper and lining are held close against the outer surface of the flange thereby securing regularity in the shape o the shoe.

A shoe embodying my invention has extreme flexibility in the sole thereof, attained by so shaping the insole as to permit a firm inseam to be secured on stock that is unfitted or too thin to be channeled. The shoe is absolutely smooth inside, inasmuch as the edge of the insole is so secured to the welt and upper that the margin of the sole cannot turn up, in course of drying after being moist-cned, to form a ridge to hurt the wearers foot.

In some cases, in. practice, I cut through the flange 2 of the insole at the points w, Fig. 1, cut away the .portion Aof the said flange at the rear of the said points, around the heel-portion of the insole, insert acounter-stiffener in place, turn the flan e of the latter into position, and last the hee -portion of the shoe in the same way as any ordinary shoe is lasted.

I claim as my invention,-

1. The improved welt-shoe havin an insole of thin flexible material forme with a permanent inseam-governing molded downturned edge-flange or lip produced by a bend around the margin thereof defining the extreme outer boundary of the tread-surface of the insole and controlling the position of the inseam and the shape of the shoe, said shoe also having the upper drawn inward against the said continuation of the insole tread-surface immediately at the bend, a welt, an inseam securing the welt, upper and Afienge or lip together, and an outsole secured to the welt by an outseaxn.

2. The improved welt-shoe havin an insole of thin exible material forme with a permanent inseam-governing molded downturned edge-flange or lip produced by a ybend around the margin thereof defining the extreme outer boundary of the tread-surface of said insole and controlling the position of the inseam and the shape of the shoe, with the whole substance of the insole extending to the said boundary, and a continuation of the said tread-surface forming the exterior of the flange or lip, said shoe also having the upper drawn inward against the said continuation of the insole tread-surface immediately at the bend, a welt, an inseam securing the welt, upper, and iange or lip together, and an outsole secured to the welt by an outseam. f

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK YV. MERRICK. Witnesses:

CHAs. F. RANDALL, NATHAN B. DAY. 

